Pretty much the last chance to give players a chance to show what they can do

I think Farrel deserves anther shot, and deserves more game time.

Sam
Briscoe
Watkins
Cudjoe
Charnley
Chase
Sinfield
Hill
Roby
Sam burgess
Ferres
Farrel
SOL

Graham
G burgess
Westwood
Burrow (notice there is no s at the end of Burrow)

Hall has his spot nailed on so let the other two fight for there spot.
There's no way mossop or t burgess can be ahead of these 4 props so I don't see the point playing either of them.

Roby is the obvious starter with Burrow a must on the bench.
Westwood hasn't been smart enough in my opinion and Farrel could well nail the starting spot although he did ad something from the bench.

For me, its the Quarter finals, and regardless of the opposition, we should play our strongest 17. Now is not the time to be finding out what people can do.

If we don't know our strongest 17 by now, then that's a concern.

Anyone not including Ryan Hall needs their head read. Chranley on the other wing for mine, both he and Briscoe have had 2 cracks each at it before it really matters to pick the form man in the Semi. Westwood to start over Farrell, strongest part of his game is hitting gaps which is more suited to an interchange role. I think the halfback argument has been rendered mute by McNamara's blind refusal to give Widdop more game time but he would still be the starting 6 for me.

I don't disagree with having the strongest lineup.
Maybe Charnley deserves another chance to nail that spot then.
Farrel did look good coming off the bench so I wouldn't disagree with that either.
I'd say apart from the wing spot the strongest 17 is pretty obvious now in my opinion.

Or as the rlfans non english speaking society would say

The strongest lineup is pretty obvious for mine.

Tomkins
Charnley
Watkins
Cudjoe
Hall
Chase
Sinfield
Hill
Roby
Graham
S. Burgess
Ferres
O'Loughlin

G. Burgess
Mossop/T. Burgess/Ablett/Farrell
Westwood
Burrow

I'd be tempted to swap the centres round tbh. Cudjoe is playing well but doesn't look natural on the left, and Watkins hasn't seen enough ball on the right. I think Burrow will get another shot from the bench after last week, I wouldn't argue if Roby stayed on for 80 minutes and we just went with 2 props and 2 second rowers on the bench though, especially in the semi (if/when we get there). Don't fancy watching SBW running at Burrow!

I think Hill, Graham, S and G Burgess, Westwood, Ferres and O'Loughlin are definitely in the first choice 17. The remaining forward is a difficult one, neither Mossop or Tom Burgess have shown enough so far, Mossop has only been given one opportunity and came on just as the Aussies were turning the screw, so I'd probably give him another shot. Ablett offers utility value if we pick up an injury in the threequarters, whereas Farrell gives solid tackling and hard yards, but is more of a starting SR than someone who provides impact off the bench.

Hall has to start as he could be in contention for top try scorer should we progress futher!

any 17 you like, will win by at least 30 points anyway

Is Burrow fit? He was concussed on Saturday, quite heavily if reports are to be believed.

I like the impact he makes from the bench, against tiring defences he could be worth quite a few line breaks or penalties. Shame about Widdop, don't know why McNamara selected him as we cannot at this stage afford a luxury player on the bench.

I think we should go for the jugular. While a massive win might count for little to us regular fans, for the massive numbers of casual viewers they just see a massive win against France, at a packed ground. They don't care about the context, they just want to see the win. It will help shift tickets at Wembley, and sell out the Final, even if we get turned over by New Zealand.
So, I would choose the same team as I would for the final
1 Tomkins 2 Charnley 3 Watkins 4 Cudjoe 5 Hall 6 Chase 7 Sinfield
8 Graham 9 Roby 10 Hill 11 Ferres 12 S Burgess 13 O'loughlin
14 Burrow 15 G Burgess 16 Mossop 17 Westwood
Briscoe had to do more than he did last week to justify ignoring Charnley's form over the whole season. I don't watch the NRL, but have not seen anything in the WCC or his international performances to suggest Widdop is a better bet than Burrow. The one spot I struggled with a little was Westwood, but went for him because we need size. Against the New Zealanders I think we have no choice other than to go big, but against Australia Farrell could be an option.
We are 3rd of 3, but pretty close to the other 2, and have generally handled New Zealand pretty well over here.

No chance of him picking this team due to his love affair with Roger but for me should be

Tomkins
Charnley
Watkins
Cudjoe
Hall
Widdop
Sinfield
Graham
Roby
S Burgess
Westwood
Ferres
O'Loughlin

G Burgess
Hill
Farrell/Ablett
Burrow

Tomkins
Briscoe
Watkins
Cudjoe
Hall
Chase
Sinfield
Hill
Roby
Graham
S Burgess
Ferres
O'Loughlin

G Burgess
Westwood
Ablett
Burrow

strange squad selection for me - 3 hookers, and no back up for 1-5 in the squad at all.

McIllorum and Mossop to miss out.

Ablett and Briscoe out with Charnley and Roby in are the changes to the 19 man squad.

I'd leave out McIlorum and Mossop and go-

Tomkins
Charnley Watkins Cudjoe Hall
Sinfield Chase
Hill Roby Graham
Ferres S Burgess O'Loughlin

Subs G Burgess, Westwood, Farrell, Burrow.

George Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor)
Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor)
Rob Burrow (Leeds Rhinos, Featherstone Lions)
Josh Charnley (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Rangi Chase (Castleford Tigers, Dannevirke Tigers)
Leroy Cudjoe (Huddersfield Giants, Newsome Panthers)
Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Brett Ferres (Huddersfield Giants, Smawthorne Panthers)
James Graham (Canterbury Bulldog, Blackbrook)
Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos, Oulton Raiders)
Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves, New Spring Lions)
Michael McIlorum (Wigan Warriors, Queens)
Lee Mossop (Wigan Warriors, Hensingham)
Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
James Roby (St Helens, Blackbrook)
Kevin Sinfield (captain) (Leeds Rhinos, Waterhead)
Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos, Latchford Albion)
Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves, Normanton Knights)

If thats the case then this is the team i would go with then.No need for two props on the bench.Graham and S Burgess can easily/ like to do 60-70 mins anyway and Sam can step up to prop for a spell (although do think he is best used on the fringes) as can Westwood.

Team looks good.Lets blow them away and makes a statement for next week!

It's certainly the best squad we've had available this tournament. We need to fire for the full 80 mins tomorrow to show we're progressing. There aren't any excuses now. The lads have blown away the cobwebs and showed some good form in patches so we now need to sustain that for longer.

It's all systems go for a good crack at the Kiwis at Wembley if we can do that.

I'd go with:

1. Sam Tomkins
2. Josh Charnley
3. Kallum Watkins
4. Leroy Cudjoe
5. Ryan Hall
6. Rangi Chase
7. Kevin Sinfield
8. Chris Hill
9. James Roby
10. Sam Burgess
11. Brett Ferres
12. Ben Westwood
13. Sean O'Loughlin

14. James Graham
15. George Burgess
16. Liam Farrell
17. Rob Burrow

Similar sort of set up to last week, spell O'Loughlin and westwood and move burgess into the back row. I don't want us to become overly reliant on Sam Burgess so I'd still run with 4 props, that also gives you an opportunity to keep all of the pack fresh. Burrow over McIlorum, let him run the tired frenchies ragged off the bench.

Looks like everyone is on the same page as far as team selection goes.
Just a few different opinions on who starts.

I would keep Sam as a prop

Would have preferred Ablett over McIlorum in the 19 as it would have given us a player who can switch to centre if we get any backs issues.

I agree with this, in S. Burgess, G. Burgess, Hill and Graham we have a very strong front row rotation that will keep us moving forward for the full 80 minutes, crucial for the big game(s) to come

Could be that McIlorum has made the 19 because Burrow is the one slight injury concern with his head injury from last week.

I'd keep Sam Burgess at starting prop and move him to loose later as O'Loughlin still finding full match fitness. The one question for me would be who starts in the other starting prop spot. Have to think ahead to which props will be on when you introduce Burrow and which will be the best ones to have on and how many minutes they'll have done by that point.

Tomkins
Briscoe/Charnley - both equally good
Watkins
Cudjoe
Hall
Chase
Sinfield
Hill
Roby
Graham
S Burgess
Ferres
O'Loughlin

G Burgess
Westwood
Ablett
Burrow

Anyone who doesn't more than hold their own against France doesn't deserve to progress. I think Ablett is the only question mark but is preferable over a lightweight Farrell. If Crabtree had been picked ahead of another lightweight, Mossop, he would be in there instead of Ablett, with Westwood having to cover the backs.

I know you seem to want as few Wigan players in the squad as possible but Charnley, McIlorum, Farrell and Mossop are in this week's 19, at least 2 of them will play. Briscoe and Ablett are not in the squad, they won't.

Farrell showed enough for me that he should be on the bench ahead of Ablett.

I realise that, it is more a 'who would you pick' thread. I have nothing against the Wigan team, it's your inbred message board I dislike, my only wish is to see England beat win a WC or Beat the Aussies in a series. I would happily have Tomkins, O'L & Charnely in any England team, though I think Charnley is behind Briscoe at the moment despite being the best winger in SL last season. I have never changed my view, which has been proven in this WC IMO, that McIlorum is a flat track one-dimensional bully, Farrell is just too small for an international back row & Mossop has never done anything of note even at SL level apart from coming in third man in a brawl against Saints, belting someone from behind & running away.